The Insight
Percipient thought-pieces and opinions from some
of
the world’s most respected industry leaders.
)
Stephen Barnes, Founder of technical and creative agency Collective, observes that while artificial intelligence is at the heart of the latest existential crisis to agitate the movie industry, AI-powered digital twins are reshaping advertising film production.
To infinity and beyond: The enduring appeal of stop-motion
In 1995 Toy Story burst onto cinema screens, apparently heralding the end of stop-motion as an art form. That proved not to be the case, and Not to Scale director Anthony Farquhar-Smith examines the ongoing appeal and artistic merit of stop-motion animation.
No more 'sadvertising': How to film emotionally charged topics sensitively
After burning out, director Jon Bregel rediscovered what really mattered to him: filming honest, human stories with care. He shares why trust, conviction, and small crews matter when tackling heavy topics like grief and trauma, and how to create work that moves people without feeling fake or forced.
How motion can be the body language of branding
Kicking off shots' Animation Focus, Chris Chapman, Creative Director of Design, adam&eveDDB, explores the oft-ignored importance of movement in creating a brand’s identity and messaging.
Creativity versus class; the great brain robbery
Creativity is steadily being siphoned off. It's created by the few and attended by the few, with the creative industries completely shutting out the working classes. Cannes, says shots Culture Editor Amy Kean, is a perfect example.
Beyond lived experience: the responsibility of telling someone else’s story
Rachel McDonald, the director behind last year’s powerful short film Hermanos – about migrant families separated at the US border – explores the sensitivities required, and the privilege of, portraying someone else’s narrative.
Structured serendipity; a strategist’s guide to killing it on the Croisette
Will Sansom gives the down-low on the ways to survive and thrive at Cannes Lions.
Disability, accessibility and the fight to get to Cannes
A recent LinkedIn post from Kelly Gordon about her inability to attend the Cannes Lions due to her wheelchair use has seen a deluge of questions and many offers of help. Here, Gordon, a Co-Founder of With Not For, and her business partner Emma Gardner, talk about the issues around disability in the workplace, the struggle to make it to the Croisette, and what you can do to help.
AI-pocalypse Now; the great creative panic
With the release of Google's Veo 3, which gives AI images the ability to talk, artificial intelligence has taken another leap forward. But, says Chris Baker, Head of New Business at Park Village, don't bow down to the hype, because the human fingerprint will always win out.